Now that the unspoken gentleman's agreement between the other 28 teams waiting for the two still competing for the Stanley Cup is over with, things should start picking up in the hockey world. The first order of business will be a medley of compliance buyouts across the league, as the final window to do so opened itself back up last night and will remain open all the way through to June 30th.

Our buddy Thomas Drance has gone ahead and compiled a list of "things you need to know" regarding the compliance buyouts, in case you need to brush up on them. They're handy because of the nice touch-up they can do on one's salary cap, wiping the slate clean and essentially handing a team a do-over of sorts.

After buying out underachieving defenseman Keith Ballard last summer, the Vancouver Canucks have just one of these "weapons in the arsenal of the collective bargaining agreement" remaining.
On Vancouver's books at the moment is one likely and two possible buyout targets. Let's evaluate the possibilities, downsides, and potential benefits of buying out each contract.

It has now been well over two months since we introduced the concept of the Scotiabank NHL Debit Card on this platform. In that time, if you took my advice and registered you’ve not only given yourself a chance to win all sorts of snazzy little goodies, but you’ve also probably had some noteworthy encounters in the times you’ve taken it out of your wallet to see the light of day.

So the playoffs are winding down and a Stanley Cup champion could be determined tonight, which is excellent news for teams that did not perform particularly well last season. While not being in the postseason for the first time in six years was kind of a drag, fans of the Vancouver Canucks are going to be the envy of at least 23 other teams at the NHL draft: they hold the No. 6 overall pick, the highest pick they've had since selecting Henrik Sedin 3rd overall in 1999.

If you want to take the time to listen to the interview for yourself, you can do so right here. Otherwise, you can read on past the jump for a transcript of the entire segment courtesy of our very own Thomas Drance.